Meet Nikita and Joanne

Making Music

When not working on their convertible furniture business, husband and wife team, Nikita and Joanne can be heard making beautiful music. Joanne is a classical flute player. Nikita not only plays classical guitar - he composes. His first CD of all original music, AFTERNOON SKETCHES is soothing, soulful, gentle and beautiful - and goes really well with the JustLeanBack furniture. Since that CD release, Nikita has composed several pieces for flute and guitar - and so, yes, Nikita and Joanne do, indeed, make beautiful music together.

Country Rides

Nikita and Joanne like to explore the gorgeous upstate New York hills and mountains in their classic little Porsche 911. Nikita has fun taking videos of these country rides. If you've never ridden in an old classic Porsche 911... well - here's the next best thing.

Thoughts on Design from Nikita

"When designing something material and mechanical, something to be used by another, I keep the “end-user” in mind. The intended design must be, in every regard, what has come to be termed “user friendly”. Applying this maxim to convertible furniture, such as sofa beds, futons and loungers, resulted, essentially, in a new kind of convertible furniture. Sofabeds and futons that could roll, recline, “just lean back”, combine with each other and even be used outdoors. To be truly user-friendly, they not only had to operate effortlessly and simply, they needed to be comfortable, strong, durable and of course, beautiful."

Fusing the Eco-friendly with the User-friendly

In the broader sense, Nikita believes that the method of producing a design must essentially be as “eco-friendly” as the design is “user-friendly”. And this can only be born by a strict adherence to efficiency – the design itself and its method of production must be “quintessential” – no extras, no redundancies. And in this way only, by seeking out the “quintessential” in design and the making of the design can the eco-friendly truly fuse with the user-friendly.

Music and Furniture

"On the other hand, when I am playing my classical guitar and I am composing, I am not playing or composing with any particular purpose in mind. I am playing because I cannot not play. I hear the music and I must play it. The music in and of itself, fills me with a sense of purpose. When played well, music fulfills me. It brings me a sense of peace and wonderment. I find comfort in music's transcendent beauty. Its meaning transcends not only human language but communes all living things. I'm not sure if there is a similiarity between my furniture designs and my musical compositions... but in any case - they do go well together... just leaning back and listening to classical guitar. I hope you enjoy either one or the other ... or both." -Nikita